Disc golf is one of the most fun sports to play as an amature, and one can only imagine it becomes even more fun as you start getting paid to play. Disc golf requires an investment of time as well as money, after all, the kit, the discs, and baskets do not come for free. This brings us to our next question; can you make a living off disc golf? And how much do professional disc golfers make?
To answer you quickly – yes, you can make a living off playing professional disc golf. There are a lot of ways to make money as a professional disc golf player. An elite pro-level disc golf player earned up to $105,776 during the 2022 season. Interestingly, this figure is only the reward money, it does not include any endorsements or sponsorships. So, what makes a professional disc golfer different from an amateur player? Can you play professional disc golf, and if yes, how can you become a professional disc golf player?
What a Professional Disc Golfer is; and How It Works?
A professional disc golfer is someone who plays disc golf and earns money from it. The idea is pretty awesome, you play the game that you love, and alongside you get paid. Becoming a professional disc golfer is quite an awesome idea, however, it requires hard work and consistent determination. You can become a professional disc golf player by joining any local PDGA-approved disc golfing clubs. You can participate in a PDGA-sanctioned disc golf tournament. The enrolments include men’s and women’s Open as well as Masters divisions. The top winners in those divisions take home a cash prize, thus, becoming professional disc golfers.
Disc Golf Touring Pro
When a disc golfer asks “How can I become a professional disc golfer?” he/she does not have local PDGA disc golf tournaments in mind. This question is aimed at achieving the level of the game where current players like Ricky Wysocki, and Paul McBeth are reigning. Their dream is to become touring pros. Touring Pros travel throughout the world and play disc golf for a living. They usually have endorsements of disc manufacturing companies along with other sponsorships.
Average Pro Disc Golf Salary
Disc golf popularity has increased over the years and consequently, today the players are making more money than they ever had in the history of disc golfing. However, if we look at the trends there is a sharp contrast in the earnings of top professional players and the earning of those who are, say, in the top 50. For example, let’s have a look at the earnings in Disc Golf 2022.
| Name of the player | Prize Money Earned |
| Ricky Wysocki | $105,776 |
| Kristine Tatter | $103,141 |
| Paul McBeth | $100,103 |
| Gannon Buhr | $86, 973 |
The total earnings of disc golf players increase as they start ranking higher. As soon as you become one of the top 10 players, you become a hot favorite of many brands and sponsors. Endorsements are one of the major sources of income for a professional disc golf player. However, for a brand to be attracted to a player, it is necessary that the player is well-recognized and is the best in the game.
How Pro Disc Golfers Make Money
Professional disc golfers earn from different sources. The primary source is the prize money that they get after winning the tournaments. Then there are sponsorships, endorsements, and incentives for disc sales. The average yearly income for disc golfers at the pro level is approximately $116,000, but those with bigger sponsorships tend to make considerably more than that.
How Much Disc Golfers Earn from Professional Tournaments?
From LVC to DGPT, all the tournaments have increased the payout money exponentially. Let’s have a look at the numbers.
| Tournament | Payout in 2020 | Payout in 2021 |
| DGPT | $100,00 to $150,00 | $250,000 |
| USDGC | $60,000 | $80,000 |
| MCO | $10,000 | $80,000 |
| GMC | $40,000 | $60,000 |
| MVP | $40,000 | $70,000 |
| Ledgestone | $490,000 | $120,000 |
| Texas Open | $30,000 | $50,000 |
The 14 of the largest events held in 2021 in the US summed up to a total of $1,222,630, the same tournaments were also held in 2020 and that year their total was $777,306. The largest payout was DGPT (Disc Golf Pro Tour Championship) amounting to $35,000. It is the largest cash payout in the history of the Disc golf tournament so far.
Money Earned from Sponsorships and Endorsements
The top disc golf players make most of their money out of endorsements and sponsorships. The two of the highest-paid male professional disc golfers, Paul McBeth and Ricky Wysocki, both are earning a guaranteed $1,000,000 a year from their sponsors. As for female professional open players, the top-earning FPO players are all making around the same figure per year, which is approximately $125,000.
The interesting thing about sponsorships is that only a handful of the contracts are publicly known. For instance, out of a handful of potential high-salary earning players, only two FPO players’ contracts have been announced publicly. These contracts belong to Kristin Tattar and Kona Star Panis, both earning a guaranteed $125,000 a year. However, to achieve that level of endorsements and sponsorships you need to be at least amongst the top 10 disc golf players.
Highest Paid Disc Golfers
Due to the confidential nature of sponsorship agreements, the actual amount of a pro disc golfer’s total income cannot be guessed accurately. However, based on an estimate, here is a list of the highest-paid disc golfers.
| Name of the player | Estimated Earning (2019) | Estimated Earning (2022) Only tournaments |
| Paul McBeth | $57,273.25 | $100,123 |
| Richard Wysocki | $40,581.00 | $105,776 |
| Eagle Wynne McMahon | $40,431 | $17, 245 |
| James Conrad | $37,340 | $27,923 |
| Calvin Heimburg | $34,948 | $69,753 |
| Paige Pierce | $33,630 | $60,944 |
| Chris Dickerson | $32,376 | $54,149 |
| Garrett Gurthie | $32,347 | $28,394 |
| Kevin Jones | $30,472 | $33,361 |
| Catrina Allen | $30,138 | $54,811 |
The highest-paid disc golfers are those who are on top of their games. It’s like a dominoes effect; the players who are extraordinary at disc golf are winning tournaments and earning grand prizes. And the players who are winning game after game are favorites of the brands, and these same players are getting more endorsements and sponsorships. Therefore, at the end of the day, it is all about how well you play.
Top Earner’s Net Worth
For the past 5 to 7 years, the endorsements and sponsorship opportunities have increased manifold for professional disc golf players. Recently, Paul McBeth signed a 10-year, $10 million contract extension with Discraft. Then there was the news of Ricky Wysocki signing a 4-year, $4 million deal with Dynamic Discs and Kristine Tatter signing a 4-year, $500k extension with Latitude 64. Of course, these are just a few of the examples, a lot of the sponsorship payments are not shared publicly. However, just to get an idea of how it works, here is a list of the total earnings of top disc golf professional players up until 2021.
| Player | Career Earnings |
| Richard Wysocki | $615,633.76 |
| Paul McBeth | $710,175.09 |
| Eagle Wynne McMahon | $262,215.20 |
| Chris Dickerson | $287,268.33 |
| Kyle Klein | $131,183.67 |
| James Conrad | $208,950.55 |
| Adam Hammes | $140,193.20 |
Ricky Wysocki’s Net Worth
As per the PDGA (Professional Disc Golf Association) website, Ricky Wysocki’s career earnings as of April 2023 is $615,633.76. The 28-year-old Wysocki signed a mammoth endorsement deal worth $4 million with Dynamic Discs. He has played in 386 events and won 125 out of them. It is believed that the era of Ricky Wysocki has just begun; as of January 9, 2023, Ricky Wysocki’s net worth was $5 Million, which has now jumped to $6+ million. He won the PDGA Rookie of the Year Award in 2011 and the Male Player of the Year Award in 2012, and is the only male player to win the two awards back-to-back.
Wysocki won the PDGA-World Championship two times (2016-2017), defeating 4x World champion Paul McBeth both times. In 2016, he won the PDGA National Tour Series, the Disc Golf World Tour Points Series, and the Disc Golf Pro Tour points series.
Current world #1 Ricky Wysocki has signed a four-year, $4 million endorsement deal with Dynamic Discs, matching Paul McBeth’s $1 million average annual value contract as the largest amount in disc golf history. The $4 million is guaranteed, with the opportunity to earn above that through incentives and bonuses.
Paul McBeth’s Net Worth
Paul McBeth is the most recognized name in professional disc golf. Apart from being the winner of multiple tournaments over the years (2012 to 2015, 2017 – 19, and 2021 – 23), Paul is the most successful disc golfer in terms of securing sponsorships and endorsements. He took home $90,403 in terms of prize money across 25 tournaments and has career earnings of over $6+ million in 2023.
Keeping in mind the tournament’s prize money and the recently renegotiated Discraft deal (not including his cut of the disc sales), Paul McBeth’s annual income is guessed to be at least $340,000. If the money earned from discs sold is included the amount can easily be doubled or even tripled the amount.
When Do Golfers Get Paid After a Tournament
The Professional Disc Golf Association has a clear set of rules about when and how disc golfers get paid after a tournament. Following is given a summary of the PDGA payout rules:
- For a player to be able to accept a cash prize in a Pro Division at a PDGA-sanctioned event, he/she must have a PDGA number for tracking purposes before the start of the event. Non-PDGA-numbered players are only eligible for trophies. The same applies to an amateur player playing in a Pro division.
- Events with more than two rounds must post payout (including all added cash) before the start of the last round.
- Any prizes that a player has earned will be distributed after the event once the results have been tabulated and verified. However, TDs (Tournament Directors) can pay the prizes earlier at their discretion.
- If a TD uses electronic payments (such as PayPal) for Pro cash prizes, those prizes must be distributed within two business days of the completion of the event. TDs must provide cash or checks to those who cannot receive payment electronically.
- If a TD uses merchandise vouchers for Amateur payout, they must be redeemable at the event or afterward via online fulfillment.
- Players can claim prizes (cash or merchandise) six months after the completion of the event.
PDGA Jobs
PDGA offers a lot of career opportunities. The organizational structure is headed by an Executive Director, and five departments report to the ED. The five departments are:
1. Operations
2. Policy and Compliance
3. Membership and Growth
4. Marketing and Media
5. Technology
Apart from these departments, the staff is posted at headquarters too. The HQ staff includes Deputy Executive Director, HR Manager, Senior Project Manager, and Senior Accountant. Each of the above-mentioned departments is further subdivided into divisions and is staffed with several people. To become a part of the PDGA team you can keep visiting their official website where any open job is usually posted.
Conclusion
Over the past couple of years, disc golf has established itself as one of those sports which offer good payouts. Professional disc golf players are earning through payout after winning the tournaments, as well as through sponsorships and endorsements. The star disc golf players such as Paul McBeth and Ricky Wysocki have made quite a fortune out of their disc golf careers. In the women’s game, Paige Pierce and Kristine Tatter are achieving new heights in professional disc golfing.
If you have always wanted to play professional disc golf, now is the time. However, get yourself registered first; amateur players cannot earn cash prizes in PDGA-approved events unless they have a player’s number. However, to achieve the professional level, you need to work on your game and reach the level where your game speaks for itself. As discussed earlier, the major money-making deals come from endorsements and sponsorships, however, brands only go for the players who par excellence and are professionals through and through.
Another way of entering PDGA is to join the association as an employee. There are quite a lot of job opportunities available, starting from the managerial level down to the assistants and other staff.
The world of disc golf has just started to expand, and it will keep growing in the coming years. If you have been playing disc golf for quite some time now, and you are still reluctant to join the professional game, we urge you to go forward and become a part of a professional player; it is exciting to earn money doing what you love. Happy disc Golfing!
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